Beware: Your cell phone’s emitting toxic gas

Technology is everywhere. Smart phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, video game consoles — they’re practically unavoidable nowadays. And there’s no denying these devices make your life easier and more entertaining in a lot of ways… but they also come with hidden health dangers.

They cause neck problems, headaches, eye strain and promote a sedentary lifestyle — all of which take a toll on your health and quality of life over the long-term. But there’s another technology-related health risk that may be even more serious…

Your cell phone, tablet and possibly other technological devices are emitting toxic fumes. In fact, your favorite technological device could be releasing deadly gases like carbon monoxide. That means the device you keep close-at-hand all daylong could be slowly poisoning you. But where are these toxic gases coming from?

Well, they’re coming from a small but highly important component of most electronic devices — the battery.

The low-down on lithium-ion batteries

Cell phones and many other electronic devices use lithium-ion batteries. In fact, these batteries are used in two billion consumer devices every year. The only problem is they could be emitting as many as 100 toxic gases at any given time.

Researchers from the Institute of NBC Defence and Tsinghua University in China heated 20,000 lithium ion batteries to the point of explosion. While doing this, they found that as these devices heated up, they began emitting gases like butane, ethyl cyanide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. At best, these gases can severely irritate your eyes, skin and nasal passages. At worst, some of these gases can kill you.

“Such dangerous substances, in particular carbon monoxide, have the potential to cause serious harm within a short period of time if they leak inside a small, sealed environment, such as the interior of a car or an airplane compartment,” said Dr. Jie Sun, lead author of the study and professor at the Institute of NBC Defence.

Overheating is one way to release fumes from lithium ion batteries, but there are others. Researchers say it can also happen when the battery is damaged or you use a disreputable charger. And those are just the ways researchers have identified so far. There’s still a lot they don’t know about when, why and how these fumes are released.

You also have to worry about these batteries exploding. You may have heard a thing or two about this happening with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 earlier this year. This happens when lithium-ion batteries overheat too. In the case of the Galaxy Note 7, the overheating was caused by a malfunction within the battery itself. But even if your phone has a perfectly functioning lithium ion battery, your phone can overheat easier than you’d expect. It can even overheat from being in a hot car, sitting out in the sun, being covered in a case that doesn’t allow enough ventilation or even from using it too much.

Safety tips for cell phones and other devices

The fact is, you’re probably not going to give up your cell phone anytime soon. So what can you do to make your favorite electronic devices a little bit safer? Researchers say you can reduce the risk of toxic fume exposure and explosion by:

• Not charging your battery fully. A fully charged battery releases more toxic gases than a battery that’s 50 percent charged.
• Not exposing your cell phone (or other devices powered by lithium ion batteries) to extreme temperatures. That means no leaving your phone in the car… especially not in the summer.
• Only using the charger that came with your phone, tablet, laptop, etc. Or if you get a replacement charger, making sure it comes from a reputable company.
• Replacing your device if you damage the battery in any way. This includes water damage.
• Replacing the battery or buying a new phone if you notice your phone becomes hot-to-the-touch too quickly. This is a sign your battery is on its way to overheating.

Sources:

1. Sun, et al. “Toxicity, a serious concern of thermal runaway from commercial Li-ion battery.” Nano Energy, 2016; 27: 313.

2. “Why Are Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 Phones Exploding?” Forbes. http://www.forbes.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.